Seasoned Banker James Kapesa has been appointed as Director General of the newly constituted National Health Insurance Management Authority.
The Authority will be responsible for the day today management of the K1.2 billion per year Health Insurance Fund which the Zambian government hopes will drive the country’s Universal Health Coverage agenda.
From this month end, civil servants will start contributing 1% of their salaries monthly while the employer will also contribute another 1% in a pilot that will later be extended to the rest of the formal sector and eventually to those in the private sector.
Before his appointment, Mr Kapesa led the National Health Insurance Scheme Implementation Team for the last four months.
Mr Kapesa also served as Head of Corporate and Retail Banking at Investrust Bank Plc before quitting and becoming a Consultant.
And Mr Kapesa has clarified that contributions to the National Health Insurance Scheme are mandatory to all Zambians above 18 years and below 65 years.
“This means that all those in gainful employment, civil servants, formal private sector employees and employers are included. The Authority, working with other stakeholders, has also designed a way to capture those in the informal sector to the extent possible,” he wrote on Facebook.
“By setting up the Authority, a body corporate with separate legal identity, accountability, transparency and probity are assured. At a deeper level, the Authority steps into the shoes of a “Special Purpose Vehicle” specially built away from the mainline ministry to focus on the “intended” and only one purpose.”
He added, “In addition to the safeguards in legislation, the governance systems; the board, management interplays is critical. But even more assuring is that the public is becoming more and more alert, now more than ever, interested in matters of national interest demanding more accountability. The project will thus profit from hightened public interest.”
The National Health Insurance Scheme is a Health financing system that is designed to pool funds to provide access to quality affordable personal health services for all Zambians based on their health needs, irrespective of their socio-economic status.
Frist sort out the FIC report. Here goes more money going down the drain to buy luxurious SUVs to take the newly appointed CEO from home to the office. Lets be fair to the few people with Jobs. They can not take on the responsibility of taking care of everyones health problems. PF is truly the worst government ever.
Good Appointment
What’s K1.2 billion a yr fund for the health of more than 16 million people? Assuming LT hv got the figure right, is someone psying attention to a
small matter of doing the numbers? If James Kapesa is up to the task, he should ask for more money.
This just adds more spice to the next FIC report…
First sort out the FIC report. Here goes more money going down the drain to buy luxurious SUVs to take the newly appointed CEO from home to the office. Let’s be fair to the few people with Jobs. They can not take on the responsibility of taking care of everyone’s health problems. PF is truly the worst government ever.
Too many Silos in MOH!
As usual most of the money will go towards workshops, allowances and salaries and they will be asking to raise the tax rate from 1% to 5%!
If MOH could not spare donor money, trust me, this will be petty cash!
Zambians are docile how does Chilufya just decide to start cutting 1% from your wages and you are there snoozing…he will be buying overpriced aspirin from his suppliers.
Explain to the citizens what is covered in this health insurance. It is malaria, STDs or kidney and heart transplants? Is panadol going to be available all the time, how about occasional medical checkups in RSA? Hospital treatment is no longer free in Zambia. I weep for my kin and folks who will be denied the dignity of at least dying in a hospital than at home. The government should collect tax from those rich bankers and use the money wisely than procuring Mercedes Benz ambulances that never arrived.
There should no more evacuations for treatment abroad.
We hear that the DG is getting K 170,000 per month. Is that true?